May 4, 2015

A Good Question

Here's an e-mail I received from a colleague who practices Social Security law:

Under the new improved electronic filing system, we have gotten a couple of calls from SSA to the effect that we have not filed our 1695 with the request for hearing or recon; we have in the past been sending the 1695 to the local District Office and they would enter it and obscure my personal SSN. I am concerned that filing a 1695 electronically directly with the appeal will result in my personal SSN appearing for all time in the claimant's claim file.
Is this a valid concern or is someone at SSA obscuring the attorney's SSN if the 1695 is filed electronically?

I think he's asking a reasonable question. What is Social Security doing?

Anon who posted 2nd is WRONG. It is policy to: 1) mask the rep's ssn, 2) "write processed on _____", 3) if no EIN is listed, the CR writes "no EIN" (to deter a rep adding it later), 4) FAX TO EF, 5) mail back to rep with letter that acknowledges receipt.

Anon 2:06: I was responding specifically to the electronically submitted 1695. In EDCS, the CR must decide whether to retain an electronically submitted document in the EF. The CR should not retain the 1695. Instead they print it and then process using normaly instructions, which include what you posted.

I work for one of the DDS as a disability adjudicator. More often than once a month, I would estimate, I get a 1695 with an attorney's SSN unmasked (and these are often very prominent, likely wealthy attorneys). I would recommend you freeze your credit if you are a SS rep who ever submits 1695s. I do send an assistance request to the FO each time asking them to mask the SSN, but I get tired of seeing this simple mistake happening time and again, and am waiting to hear the story of some big attorney getting his identity stolen, if it hasn't happened already...